Apprenticeship levy will deepen north-south divide, IPPR says

Thinktank's analysis suggests new 3bn levy on larger employers will raise less money and have smaller impact on areas that need it most

The government's new 3bn apprenticeship levy threatens to deepen Britain's north-south divide, according to a new analysis, with London and the south-east benefiting most from the government's shakeup of staff training.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has warned that the apprenticeship levy, which comes into force next month, will raise less money and have a smaller impact in the areas that need it most. These areas are those that have been hit by deindustrialisation and suffer from low levels of qualifications, low productivity and low pay.

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